Movie

My family and I traveled down to Los Angeles during Spring Break, a time when other families and friends head out en mass to see the attractions. Honestly, it is one of the worst times to visit any type of theme park. Be prepared for long lines, lots of people, and spending most of your time simply waiting to do things. If you are headed to Universal Studios Hollywood during the peak season, be prepared to wait – some of the new rides can have wait times of over 60 minutes. And when the park is in full swing, you probably need 2 days to see all of the shows and get all all of the rides as well as do the back lot tour. But let me tell you this secret, if you can afford it, the Front of the Line pass (which is either 9 or $149 depending on the season) is well worth it in that you can actually see everything in the park in one day (and even do a few things a couple of times).

The Front of the Line pass gives you 1-time “cutting” abilities in lines for each ride and show. You are directed to “Gate A” which is a different line than what normal ticket holders follow. And it gives you reserved seating at all of the shows so that you can wait until the last minute to head to a show – you still get prime seats. Your pass is scanned each time and if you try to use it again on the same ride, you are told that it only is good for one time through using Gate A on each ride, however we found that we could come back to a ride later in the day and use it again. We experienced the new Transformers 3D ride twice, Jurassic Park three times and the Mummy ride twice, all on the same day, and still were able to enjoy everything else at the park. Bottom line, if you can swing it, the Front of the Line pass is definitely worth it.

So, what can you see at Universal Studios Hollywood? Read on for some pictures and highlights of some of the attractions. Or even better, watch the “highlights” video below – “Universal Studios Hollywood in 4 Minutes” (available directly on YouTube here).